Departing from Brooklyn a little after 9 PM last Sunday, a See Life Paulagics trip aboard the Brooklyn VI arrived at some very warm water about 140 miles out into the Atlantic by dawn Monday. The calm seas provided good visibility and very quickly our exciting day of birding began, with most of the great birds well beyond the distances the old one-day pelagics from New York could manage.

Enjoyed during the day were 16 BLACK-CAPPED PETRELS, 3 WHITE-FACED, 25 BAND-RUMPED, 3 LEACH’S and 230 WILSON’S STORM-PETRELS, 18 AUDUBON’S, 13 GREAT and 225 CORY’S SHEARWATERS, a LONG-TAILED JAEGER, and 2 BLACK TERNS. The 16 BLACK-CAPPED PETRELS were a new New York maximum, and, thanks to the boat captain’s deft maneuvering, 2 of the WHITE-FACED STORM-PETRELS were seen remarkably well for an extended period of time. Rounding out an excellent day were close encounters with pods of Striped and Spotted Dolphins and around 300 Pilot Whales, plus sightings of Manta Ray, Hammerhead Shark, Loggerhead Sea Turtle and some Flying Fish.

A Selasphorus hummingbird, first seen last Friday at the feeders at the Elizabeth A. Morton National Wildlife Refuge in Noyack, was, after close observation Saturday, identified as a young male RUFOUS HUMMINBGIRD, but it apparently departed Monday morning and has not been seen since.

Some grassland sandpipers have been showing up this week, including at the usually productive sod fields north of Riverhead located south of Sound Avenue between Doctor’s Path on the west and Route 105 on the east. These fields have produced up to 8 BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS starting last Sunday, a BAIRD’S SANDPIPER Monday off Doctor’s Path, and up to 20 AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS as of Tuesday. These birds do move around a bit and may not always be visible. Twenty-four GOLDENS were seen Wednesday off Osborne Avenue, with 26 there today along with 1 BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER. Other sod fields in Miller Place off Yaphank Road and east of Sycamore Street attracted up to 6 BUFF-BREASTEDS and 4 GOLDENS early in the week.

This morning 3 BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS visited the Jones Beach West End pools between field 2 and the Roosevelt Sanctuary; also there were 1 WHITE-RUMPED, 2 WESTERN and 3 STILT-SANDPIPERS.

Another BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER was at Heckscher State Park last Saturday, and BAIRD’S SANDPIPERS include 1 staying at Plumb Beach in Brooklyn from Sunday to at least Wednesday and another at the south end of the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge last Sunday. Also reported from the East Pond Sunday were brief visits from an AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER and a MARBLED GODWIT at the north end in the afternoon, and 2 CASPIAN TERNS have been present on the pond during the week.

A single BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER visited Cupsogue County Park in Westhampton Dunes Wednesday, this following an AMERICAN AVOCET reported flying east from Cupsogue last Sunday. Four BLACK and 4 ROYAL TERNS were on the flats there Sunday, with 2 CASPIAN TERNS there Tuesday. Two CASPIANS were also seen along the Hudson off Manhattan Sunday afternoon, with another at Heckscher State Park Thursday along with a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL.

Land birds for the week were fairly sparse, with some influx today; highlights have featured YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT in Central Park Sunday, a hybrid “LAWRENCE’S” WARBLER at Alley Pond Park Saturday, with a CONNECTICUT WARBLER near Little Alley Pond today, and a HOODED WARBLER at the Bronx Zoo yesterday. OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHERS were noted Saturday in Prospect Park and at Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay.

This morning a small flight at Robert Moses State Park produced a LARK SPARROW and 3 PURPLE FINCHES, along with a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL.

To phone in reports, on Long Island call Tony Lauro at (631) 734-4126, or weekdays call Tom Burke at (212) 372-1483.

This service is sponsored by the Linnaean Society of New York and the National Audubon Society. Thank you for calling.